The president is coming lacks punch
Those who have seen the stage version of The President is Coming will know what to expect from the film — more or less.
The President is Coming
Cast: Konkona Sen Sharma, Ira Dubey, Vivek Gombher
Director: Kunaal Roy Kapoor
Rating: ***
Those who have seen the stage version of The President is Coming will know what to expect from the film — more or less. Written by Anuvab Pal and directed by Kunaal Roy Kapoor, this is a politically incorrect satire based partly on fact and largely on fiction.
Circa 2006, George W Bush visited India and expressed his desire to meet one out of a 600 million young Indians. This is fact. Fiction takes over as a PR agency is hired to select that one special young Indian who will have the privilege of shaking hands with the most powerful man on Earth.
Two competitive and contrary heads of the PR agency shortlist six diverse candidates and put them through a series of bizarre and hilarious tasks.
The six contestants come with differing motives for shaking Bush’s hand. Gujarati stockbroker Kapil Dev is hatching a big scam. Ajay Karlekar is a social worker cloaking his fundamentalist beliefs in his khadi kurta. Rich kid Archana has Paris Hilton aspirations and a dark secret.
Maya Roy is a divorced Bengali writer who compares herself to Hemingway. Accent trainer Rohit has a super-sized chip on his shoulder and Ramesh S is an IT professional from Bangalore taking tips from Cosmopolitan magazine of how to be a better lover.
Kapoor employs a mockumentary/ reality TV style to capture the antics in the basement of the US Consulate where the contestants are tested on their general knowledge, talents and even physical agility. Humour and parody permeates at all levels. While the script is primarily a series of gags, it manages to couch issues of caste, class, prejudice, sexual politics and tolerance within them.
The President is Coming is a low budget production but that is compensated for with wit, and an end that you might not see coming.
Cast: Konkona Sen Sharma, Ira Dubey, Vivek Gombher
Director: Kunaal Roy Kapoor
Rating: ***
Those who have seen the stage version of The President is Coming will know what to expect from the film — more or less. Written by Anuvab Pal and directed by Kunaal Roy Kapoor, this is a politically incorrect satire based partly on fact and largely on fiction.
Circa 2006, George W Bush visited India and expressed his desire to meet one out of a 600 million young Indians. This is fact. Fiction takes over as a PR agency is hired to select that one special young Indian who will have the privilege of shaking hands with the most powerful man on Earth.
Two competitive and contrary heads of the PR agency shortlist six diverse candidates and put them through a series of bizarre and hilarious tasks.
The six contestants come with differing motives for shaking Bush’s hand. Gujarati stockbroker Kapil Dev is hatching a big scam. Ajay Karlekar is a social worker cloaking his fundamentalist beliefs in his khadi kurta. Rich kid Archana has Paris Hilton aspirations and a dark secret.
Maya Roy is a divorced Bengali writer who compares herself to Hemingway. Accent trainer Rohit has a super-sized chip on his shoulder and Ramesh S is an IT professional from Bangalore taking tips from Cosmopolitan magazine of how to be a better lover.
Kapoor employs a mockumentary/ reality TV style to capture the antics in the basement of the US Consulate where the contestants are tested on their general knowledge, talents and even physical agility. Humour and parody permeates at all levels. While the script is primarily a series of gags, it manages to couch issues of caste, class, prejudice, sexual politics and tolerance within them.
The President is Coming is a low budget production but that is compensated for with wit, and an end that you might not see coming.